veral charges, and difmiffed the fervice. The Marquis de Ja Fayette diftinguished himself greatly in this action. The judicious manner in which Sir Henry Clinton conducted this retreat of the confederate army, received great applause it is perhaps his moft diftinguished atchievement. His whole force did not reach Sandy Hook until the firft of July, fo that a fortnight elapfed from leaving Philadelphia to the arrival of the army at New York. If fuch were the impediments and dangers in traversing this country, with an enemy hanging on their rear, it is obvious to infer, that Sir William Howe was perfectly right in not attempting to penetrate by that route, when Washington was prepared to difpute every inch of ground, and the British general must have driven the enemy before him through the whole progrefs; a fituation much more embarraffing than merely to repel his attacks. The abandonment of Philadelphia was rendered neceffary by the approach of the Count d'Eftaing's fleet to the American coafts. Intereft and ambition will frequently lead men to affume the femblance of generofity; but that government, which was then actually exercifing the most unfeeling feverity on the brave Corficans, because their ftubborn nature could not be brought to yield obedience to a foreign yoke, fhould have little credit given to it, on the score of motive, in the relief which it now fent to Ame rica. Tempefts, which had difperfed and fhattered Admiral Byron's fleet, had only retarded that of d'Estaing, fo that he arrived in full force at the mouth of the Dela ware, the latter end of June, only three days after Lord Howe had failed from thence for New York. The British naval force was fo inferior to that of the enemy; that the confequences of his arrival but a few days fooner might Ꮓ might have been very fatal. The Americans, mafters of Philadelphia, Sir Henry Clinton's army on its march, and only fix fixty-four gun fhips, three fifties and two forties, to make head against eleven fhips of the line, of which one carried ninety guns, another eighty, fix feventy-four, and three fixty-four, befides which, there were a fifty-gun fhip and three large frigates; neither fuperior bravery nor skill, although exercised in their fullest extent, feemed capable of extricating fuch a fleet from such a fituation. The French Admiral, thus difappointed of meeting his enemy in the spot most favourable to his defigns, fought him in his more defenfible poft. Lord Howe, who poffeffed every qualification of a naval commander in a very eminent degree, made great use of a very short space of time, in protecting his fhips in the harbour. The ardour, activity, and undaunted firmnefs difcovered by all ranks on this trying occafion, prefaged a favourable termination of the conflict. D'Estaing appeared on the 11th of July, and immediately made the neceffary difpofition for an attack, but the danger to which his large fhips would have been expofed in paffing a bar which obftructs the approach to New-York, abated his impetuofity; he therefore continued ten days before Sandy-Hook without attempting any thing against the British fleet, and then directed his courfe towards RhodeIsland, for the reduction of which, a plan had been concerted with Congrefs. General Sullivan, at the head of ten thousand Americans, being to pass over from the Continent and attack the town of Newport and the British Jines, whilft the French fleet affailed them on the oppofite fide. Lord Howe, foon after the departure of the French fleet, was joined by three fhips, one of which carried seventy four four guns, the other fixty-four, and the third fifty, He The British Admiral, in conducting the operations of the fleet under his command,adopted a mode of conduct altogether unknown to former naval commanders, and which indeed none but those of acknowledged bravery could adopt, without incurring imputations on their character: he removed from the Eagle to the Apollo frigate, that he might be better fituated for directing the fubfequent operations of the fquadron. A fea fight of a very fingular kind was now about to be entered upon, in which the weight of metal was to be opposed to the dextrous working of smaller ships, more numerous, and poffeffing all the advantages of British feamanship. The brilliancy of Lord Howe's courage had appeared on many trying occafions; it was generally acknowledged, that in the naval line he had not a fuperior ; Z 2 a moft a moft rare opportunity now prefented itself for the display of his profeffional skill. Hitherto, during the American war, the naval Commander in Chief had no opportunity of eminently diftinguishing himself; this was the precife point of time for doing it; but whilft the battle was thus put in array, a ftrong gale of wind arofe, which in a fhort time increased to a violent tempeft that continued for near fortyeight hours. This entirely changed the nature of the confict, and both fleets had to contend with the enraged elements, inftead of each other. The ftorm foon difperfed the fhips of both fquadrons, and threatened them with deftruction. The Apollo, with the Admiral on board, sprung her main-maft, and loft her fore-maft; he therefore went on board the Phoenix as foon as the weather became more moderate; that frigate he foon after quitted for the Centurion'; but on seeing ten fail of the French fquadron at anchor, about twenty-five leagues caftward of Cape May, his Lordship left the Centurion in a proper ftation to watch their motions, and to direct any British fhips that might arrive, and, again going on board the Phoenix, reached Sandy-hook on the evening of the 17th, that place being the rendezvous appointed in cafe of a feparation*. This form proved much more fatal to the French fhips than to the English. Their Admiral's own fhip, the Languedoc, of ninety-guns, loft her mafts, and narrowly escaped being taken by a fifty-gun fhip, commanded by Capt. Dawfon, whofe fuperior courage and dexterity fupplied the place of force; but in the moment when he was about to feize his glorious prey, fix French fhips of force appeared, and averted the otherwise inevitable fate of their Admiral. The English acquired great honour in every * Hervey's Naval History, p: 555 action action which they maintained; Commodore Hotham, in another fifty-gun fhip, fell in with the Tonnant of eighty guns, which the ftorm had also disfmafted. This fhip would have fallen a prey to the English, if it had not been rescued by the coming up of the French fleet. Capt. Raynor, in the Ifis, another fifty-gun fhip, fought a French feventyfour gun fhip for an hour and half, within piftol-fhot, both ships had fuffered nothing by the tempeft, yet Capt. Rayner not only defended himself, but at length compelled his antagonist to put before the wind. The English had now gained a fuperiority over their enemies on the American coaft, by another fixty-four gun fhip, one of Byron's fquadron, having arrived. D'Estaing collected his fcattered fleet off Rhode-Ifland, and whilft he remained in that bay, he became exposed to fimilar dangers, as those which the British Admiral had fo lately escaped in the Delaware; he too was faved by the fame means, for Lord Howe did not appear until his enfeebled enemy had reached the port of Boston *. The arrival of Admiral Byron some time after, caufed the command in chief to devolve on him, and Lord Howe returned home. It was little lefs mortifying to France than to America, to fee that formidable fleet, which had fix thousand landforces on board, instead of effecting the great things which had been expected from it, enter the port of its new ally, a diftreffed fugitive. Thefe difappointments which had happened, notwithstanding the force under Byron had been rendered incapable of taking any part in the naval campaign, by a tempeft which dispersed and shattered his hips, caufed mutual diffatisfaction, and heightened that natural August 30, 1778. Z3 ill-will |